Ready or Not
by ananova
Summary: Lounging in a tree, Inuyasha's rest is disturbed by Kagome's voice. Just what is she up to now?
1. Ready or Not

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. In other words, I don't own and I make no money from this.

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Originally posted to Inuyasha Fanfiction on February 19, 2012 for oneshot #9. Won 2nd place.

Title: Ready or Not  
Author: ananova  
Word Count: 816  
Prompt: Count to 10  
Genre: Friendship  
Rating: K+  
Warnings: None

Characters: Inuyasha and Kagome  
Summary: Lounging in a tree, Inuyasha's rest is disturbed by Kagome's voice. Just what is she up to now?

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"Okay, ready?"

Inuyasha frowned as he sat up on the branch he had been lounging on, an ear flickering in the direction of Kagome's voice. What was that wench up to now?

"One."

"Two."

'Is she counting?' He wondered as his eyes began to search his surroundings, looking for where her voice was coming from.

"Three."

"Four."

He detected the sound of quiet laughter, then rustling leaves as someone scampered into the bushes. He sniffed, recognizing Shippou's scent before dismissing the noise. He did note, however, that he seemed to be heading back in the direction of the village.

"Five."

"Six."

Rolling his eyes, he stood on his branch before silently leaping in the direction of Kagome's voice, determined to find out what she was up to. She knew better then to wander around the forest alone. He growled softly as an idea occurred to him. 'This better not be a trick so she can go back home!'

"Seven."

"Eight."

Finally, he came upon her. Landing silently on a branch directly above her, Inuyasha frowned down at the girl, confusion written on his face. 'What the hell?' He scratched his head in confusion.

Kagome stood, eyes closed as she faced the tree he crouched in. "Nine. Ten." A grin covered Kagome's face as her eyes shot open. "Ready or not, here I come!" She whirled around, peering around her before picking a direction at random and racing off.

Inuyasha followed silently, leaping from branch to branch above her as she slowed and began peering around trees and bushes, searching for something.

"I'm gonna find you," she called with a laugh. "You can't hide for long." A breeze rustled the leaves of a nearby bush and Kagome leaped at it, pushing the foliage aside. "Got ya!" she called before slumping slightly at the sight of the empty bush. She laughed at herself. "You're good at this game Shippou-chan," she complimented before listening to see if he would give himself away.

Inuyasha frowned, sniffing slightly. The kitsune was nowhere near, it seemed he had used her distraction to head back to the village, most likely trying to sneak some sweets. As Kagome peered around another tree he decided enough was enough. He leaped down from his perch, landing directly behind her. "Oi."

Kagome screamed, whirling around. "Inuyasha!" she gasped, hand over her heart. "Don't scare me like that." His ears lowered on his head at her words. He hadn't meant to scare her. She noticed, kicking herself for her careless words. "Did you need something?" she asked as she calmed her racing heart.

He shook his head. "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" He gestured at the area she had been searching. A bright smile lit up her face. "Oh, I was playing hide and seek with Shippou-chan."

"Hide and seek?"

"Yeah. One or more people hide while the seeker gives them a head start before going looking for them."

"That's why you were counting before?"

She flushed as she realized how long he must have been watching. "Yeah, the ones who are hiding usually have until the count of ten before the person seeking them comes looking." She sighed as she looked around. "But Shippou-chan is really good at this game. I have no idea where he could be hiding."

"Feh. The brat tricked you. He's back at the village, probably eating whatever treats you had in your bag."

Kagome groaned. "I was trying to distract him from those with this game. He's been eating way too many sweets lately." She sighed. "I better go and see how bad the damage is."

But Inuyasha wasn't really paying attention to her words. A thought had occurred to him, causing a smirk to appear on his face. Seeing Kagome start off in the direction of the village, he stepped in her path.

"Inuyasha?" She frowned, what was he up to?

"One." His smirk began to grow as she blinked at him. "Two."

Eyes widening in realization, Kagome stared a moment longer.

"Three." He swept his arm in the direction of the forest, one eyebrow raised. "Four."

A wide grin split Kagome's face as she turned and raced off into the forest. She knew he would easily track her down but the fact that he wanted to play was enough to make her happy.

"Five. Six. Seven."

She hid quickly, trying to remain as quiet as possible.

"Eight. Nine. Ten. Ready or not, here I come." Inuyasha allowed a grin to cover his own face as he set off after the girl. Some of her games could be fun and interesting after all. He couldn't wait to see what happened after he found her.


	2. Caught in the Rain

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. In other words, I don't own and I make no money from this.

* * *

Originally posted to At First Tweak on June 14, 2012 for Prompt #71 Summer Showers.

Title: Caught in the Rain

Author: ananova

Rating: T

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Universe: Canon

Word Count: 1054

Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome's game of hide-and-seek continues. Follows Ready or Not.

A/N: Dedicated to SplendentGoddess who wanted to know what happened when Inuyasha caught Kagome.

* * *

"Ten. Ready or not, here I come."

Kagome ducked down further behind the bush she had picked to hide behind, and tried not to laugh. She would never have imagined that Inuyasha would want to play this game. She smiled, it was so nice to see him in a playful mood.

Inuyasha smirked as he paused, head tilted to the side. Did the wench really think he wouldn't find her behind that bush? He crouched, then leaped over it. "Got ya!"

Kagome squealed in surprise, one hand clutching at her chest. "Inuyasha!" she laughed.

"So what happens now?"

"Well, now it's my turn to look for you." Kagome groaned. "I can't believe you found me so fast."

"Well what do you expect? You're not exactly quiet." He wiggled his ears slightly. "Plus I could smell you anywhere."

Her jaw dropped open. "You cheated?"

He frowned at her. "What do you mean? I didn't cheat. You said I had to find you, and I did. You didn't say nothing about not using my ears or nose."

Her mouth opened with a retort on the tip of her tongue but she stopped. "You're right, it's not your fault you have an advantage over me." She sighed. "Oh well, I guess you should start looking for a hiding spot."

Inuyasha frowned as she began to count. "Wait." He knew she'd never be able to find him if he was the one to hide. "You hide again. I'll make it fair and only use my eyes." Besides, he liked searching for her.

Kagome gave him a searching look. "Really?"

"Yeah, go on. One," he started the count and she beamed at him before turning to race off. But before she could go far a light rain began to fall. Inuyasha stopped counting as his ears flattened to his head to keep the rain out. "Guess that's it for the game," he sighed. "Come on, we should head back."

But Kagome didn't move. "We don't have to stop," she suggested. "It's only a light summer shower. It can't hurt us."

Inuyasha hesitated. "I don't know. I don't want you getting sick."

"Please," she pleaded. "I promise if it gets worse we'll head back, but it's barely even raining as it is. Besides," she smiled impishly at him. "This will guarantee your promise about not using your senses to find me."

Well, she had him there. The rain would interfere with his sense of smell and he would have to keep his ears flat to keep the water out. "Okay, fine. But if I think you're in danger of becoming sick that's it."

"Okay," she beamed at him. "Now start counting so I can go hide."

He snorted and shook his head in amusement. "One."

Kagome quickly raced away, giggling slightly. She hadn't wanted the game to end and apparently neither had he. 'Now, where can I hide?' She began looking for a good hiding spot. She didn't want to make it to easy and quickly discarded the idea of hiding behind another bush.

Her eyes fell on a tree branch that was just the right height for her to hoist herself up and she smirked. 'He'll never think to look for me up there,' she thought as she grabbed hold and started climbing. She settled on a branch fairly high up, pleased with herself.

In the meantime, Inuyasha had ceased counting and started searching. He frowned as he saw no sign of her. 'Not gonna be so easy this time,' he thought before seeing her footprints in the slightly muddy ground. 'Then again,' he grinned. After all, he did promise he would only use his eyes, not his fault if she forgot he was a good tracker, with or without his sense of smell.

He followed the tracks, frowning when they ended. 'What?'

Kagome stifled a giggle as she saw Inuyasha looking around directly below her. 'He'll never think to look up here.'

Inuyasha continued to look around the area Kagome's tracks ended in. 'Where could she have gone?' Then his eyes landed on the trunk of a nearby tree and narrowed. There was a bit of mud there, suspiciously in the shape of Kagome's shoe print. He smirked. 'Sneaky wench, I'll show her.' He made a big production of looking around and then walking off in another direction. Once he was sure that he was out of sight he leaped up into a tree of his own before stealthily making his way back. 'And there she is.'

Kagome covered her mouth with her hands as she watched Inuyasha leave. 'I did it! I actually fooled him!'

"Caught ya!"

Kagome gasped as Inuyasha's head appeared upside down in front of her. "Gah!" she cried as her foot slipped on the wet bark and she plunged from the tree.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried as he leaped down after her, snatching her out of the air and cradling her close. "You alright?" His eyes examined her worriedly.

"Yeah, I guess that wasn't a good idea after all," Kagome said as she calmed her racing heart.

"Feh! You shouldn't have tried climbing a tree in the rain!" He began angrily before slumping. "And I shouldn't have scared you like that."

Kagome cupped his cheek. "It's alright."

He stared into her eyes and she stared back. Slowly, they leaned closer and brushed their lips together in a soft kiss.

Breaking apart a moment later, Inuyasha's expression morphed into a grin. "So do I get a kiss every time I 'catch' you?"

"Oh, you!" Kagome laughed. Still she was thankful for the summer shower, she was sure that wouldn't have happened if he hadn't had to catch her. It put a whole new spin on the phrase 'Caught in the rain'. "Come on, it's my turn to look. And I want my own kisses when I find you."

"Deal!" Inuyasha sought out his own easy to find hiding spot as Kagome began counting. 'I could get used to this,' he thought with a grin as he watched her finish counting and head straight for him.


End file.
